This image is part of an ongoing venture. Part of it is practicing my long exposure techniques and also recording the sad devastation and destruction of this area, which is about 20 minutes from home. Yarramundi Lagoon used to be a favourite picnic and photo location in our area, where two rivers join. Until about 3 years ago, when we had a huge flood and the water flowing down both rivers just literally washed it away. There are still many large trees strewn in and around the water. This image was taken from a lower angle to emphasize the details in the fallen trees together with the movement in the clouds, while others were taken from a higher viewpoint to give some separation between the elements in the scene. I've taken more images in IR b&w than colour, in the hope of adding to the mood of destruction. Maybe next month I'll submit one of those.
Details are: Nikon D810; 24mm lens length; ISO 64; F16; 136 seconds and tripod mounted.
8 comments posted
Rusty Pinckney
Ian, I love the leading log line. You tell a story of what the power of nature can do. The movement of the clouds add to the mood. Posted: 10/11/2025 20:35:43
Ian Cambourne
Thanks for your comments Rusty. It's fun having a play with ND filters when the conditions are right. Posted: 10/13/2025 05:01:44
Trey Foerster
Ian, those clouds are crazy! The subject is the large tree trunk and it is well balanced on the right with other tree debris, creating a triangle. The rest of the image gives context to the subject. The only distraction to my eye are the two trees at right. Posted: 10/19/2025 17:33:13
Ian Cambourne
Thanks for your comments Trey. As you know, nature does what nature does. When a wind blows clouds, it also blows trees. I was reluctant to crop them out, as I wanted to keep the timber beneath them in the frame. Also, there was no where else I could set up this shot from. It is what it is, and we get what we get. Posted: 10/26/2025 12:11:09
Sanford Morse
Certainly tells the story. What's with the trees on the right? I'd vote for a tighter crop, eliminating some of the left, which doesn't add anything, and better balancing the composition. Posted: 10/23/2025 13:45:20
Ian Cambourne
Thanks for your comments Sanford. The trees on the right are being blown around by the same wind that is sending the clouds across the sky. Posted: 10/26/2025 12:07:03
Gordon Watson
Ian, your use of a (very!) long exposure certainly adds dynamics to the clouds. The long tree trunk gives us a lead-in, but you mentioned you had some higher viewpoint images and perhaps those would give some separation between the roots and the far shoreline. Regarding the trees on the right I do find them a bit distracting. What you could try is take a short exposure, use Content Aware Fill to remove the blurry trees on your long exposure then blend in the static trees with a darken blend mode. Just something to try out. Posted: 10/26/2025 17:06:29
Ian Cambourne
Thanks for your comments Gordon. The learning curve continues. Posted: 10/26/2025 21:12:45
